Japan invested $4.7 billion in the six-month period, up 14.4 percent on year, with EU investment 14.7 percent higher at $4.0 billion and that from the U.S. rising 12.3 percent to $1.8 billion.

The vast majority of investment into China comes from a group of 10 Asian countries and regions that includes Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore.

Inflows from those economies gained 5.3 percent on-year to $53.8 billion during the first half.

Inward investment fell in 2012 for the first time in three years as clouds gathered over the global economy, particularly in Europe, while China suffered its own economic slowdown and political tensions soared with Japan.

“It is premature to come to the conclusion FDI has recovered with the single month data in June,” Shen said. “But FDI was relatively stable in the first half and gradually rebounded.

“We expect FDI to maintain steady growth in the second half of the year.”

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 13 years in 2012 as gross domestic product expanded 7.8 percent.

In the first half of this year, growth slipped again to 7.6 percent, Beijing said this week.

Chinese overseas investment increased significantly in the period, with money flowing into the U.S. almost quadrupling, jumping 290 percent year-on-year.

It almost doubled into resource-rich Australia, where it went up 93 percent, and investment into the EU also rose 50 percent.

However, investment into Japan, with which China is embroiled in a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea, fell 9.1 percent.

Shen said the fall was mainly a result of a widening choice of investment destinations for cash-rich Chinese firms, as well as “investment barriers” in Japan.